The Troy Davis execution reminds us that capital punishment in the US has an intimate relationship with race, and while plenty of US liberals are against the death penalty, three times as many Americans say they strongly favour executions.

Everyone knows that much of Afghanistan’s current misery can be traced back to the willingness of the Soviets and the US to fund various groups of cut-throats during the cold war. We’re doing exactly the same today.

A campaign of assassination of local leaders thought to be loyal to the Taliban contains an obvious potential for human rights abuses, especially since it’s almost impossible for the media to monitor what undercover troops actually do.

ASIO says that five refugees from Oceanic Viking constitute a threat to national security. How can this be a healthy democratic country when a secret agency plays such a major role in a political debate, without even making its sources available?

Stephen Conroy’s internet filter smells just like a campaign to put clothes upon the world’s animals. It will generate headlines about decency and families, but leave the fundamentals of society entirely untouched.

Did any of the Right-wing pundits who fostered the denialist cause ever sit down and decide that, in the wake of Howard’s defeat, the conservative movement would best counter Kevin Rudd’s steady popularity by installing the most ferociously reactionary leader the Liberal Party has ever seen?